The Key
by Serenity B. Radcliffe
Summary: She was the key to everything. He was just too daft to see it. And all he really needed, was just a push in the right direction.


He couldn't stay up in this room all day. He knew he couldn't. For starters, all of the orange was starting to slowly give him a headache, and it was beginning to make his head spin. Secondly, he had to prove to them that he was fine.

According to popular belief he fancied Luna Lovegood, who had been killed at the end of his sixth year (which was only a little over a month before) at the hand of one of Voldermort's Death Eaters. Harry knew he didn't fancy Luna though, he might have been a boy, but he wasn't completely hopeless.

Luna was a good friend to talk to, she understood him to a level, and he knew he could tell her anything without being judged or ridiculed. Not that he didn't need the ridicule or judgment every once in a while.

Plus, he heard Mrs. Weasley talking about how everyone had "their cup of tea" and Harry knew that Luna wasn't his. Her cup most likely had an odd aftertaste, that made up wonder what the hell you just drank afterwards. Harry didn't need more confusion in his life. He needed something steady. But that's another story.

Luna was Harry's good friend, so of course he was sad. Plus, he was Harry, he had the right to sulk, didn't he?

Groaning as he got up, Harry left Ron Weasley's completely Orange room. Ron Weasley, however, was no where to be seen. Harry had a sneak suspicion, however, to where his best mate was and it most likely involved somewhere away from the Burrow with a certain brown haired witch by the name of Hermione Granger. Harry, and Ron's youngest sister, Ginny, had a running bet that Ron and Hermione would either end up killing one another or marrying each other.

Speaking of Ginny--

"Gin?" Harry said quietly, as he pushed through her door.

As he had expected, Ginny wasn't there. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Harry turned to leave, but something caught his eye. Turning to look at it, Harry recognized a Pensive.

"I didn't know Gin had a Pensive," Harry said aloud, stepping closer to it. Stopping in his tracks Harry shook his head. "What are you thinking Potter? Going into Gin's personal thoughts! What if there was something I shouldn't be seeing in there?"

The mirror on Ginny's wall, laughed. "Talking to yourself, Harry?" Mirror!Harry asked, laughing. Harry rolled his eyes. "Go on, take a peek," Mirror!Harry urged. Harry looked at him (well, himself, really) doubtfully.

Harry looked at the Pensive, and suddenly, Curiosity got the best of him. Harry walked over, making sure he was cautious, and looked into the Pensive, soon being sucked into a whole other world.

Standing up, and looking around, Harry saw that he was in the back of The Burrow. Looking around his surroundings, Harry saw a younger version of Ginny. Her hair was up in pig tails and she had a sucker in her mouth. "You know what he said next, Charie! You know what he said next?" she said excitedly.

Charlie, looked at his younger sister, apparently bored. "What did he say, Bumble?" he asked, in a mock excited tone.

Little Ginny paid no mind to the lack of enthusiasm, and continued, "That he…Ronnie, and Harry Potter…HARRY POTTER! Had become best friends! Can you imagine it, Charie? Him and Harry!" Little Ginny held a hand to her heart, as if she was still in disbelief. "Harry Potter seems much nicer then I thought he would be. I always thought, you know, he'd be stuck up, and be like…those one people that Daddy doesn't like."

Charlie shook his head, obviously trying to block out his little sister.

"You know what, Charie? It was kind of sad though…He was all alone," Ginny said, looking at her feet. Harry took note that her shoelaces weren't tied, and smiled as he realized she hardly ever ties them now.

"Not everyone's lucky like us, Bumble," Charlie said, looking at his little sister. "He'll find someone though. Everyone has someone who will care for them, and take care of them."

"Well, you know what? I'll marry him, and be just like Mummy. Except I won't make him sleep with Fester when he forgets to put his Muggle toys away," Ginny said nodding enthusiastically.

Harry looked at the girl who seemed to have one of the biggest hearts he'd ever seen. He was so caught up, he almost missed what Charlie said.

"Wait who is Fester?"

"You know, the ghoul? Duh," Ginny said, shaking her head.

Harry watched as young Ginny slowly faded, and Harry was in a different place. Harry looked around, recognizing he was in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore himself, was behind his desk, hands together in his lap, a twinkle visible in his eye.

"Well, Miss Weasley, do you think you'll be joining me anytime soon, or do you think you'll stand out there until you hear me leave my office?" Dumbledore suddenly called, staring directly at the door.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and a small red head poked her head in. She looked slightly flustered, and Harry couldn't help the smile that crept across his face.

Ginny came in, and sat down across from Dumbledore, looking entirely too small for her seat. She was nervous, and Harry could see it. It was obvious.

"How was Egypt?" Dumbledore asked casually.

Ginny, however, played along. "It was nice. For once the whole family was together, and it was a nice change," Ginny said nodding. "But, Professor, I know you didn't call me here to talk about that," Ginny said quietly, shifting in her seat.

Harry was taken aback. He knew Ginny was forward, but this had to have been after his second year, if Dumbledore was bringing up Egypt. He was amazed that she could be blunt in front of Dumbledore, and not in front of him. Then again, Ginny never got her elbow in the butter dish in front of Dumbledore. Harry smiled at the memory, then turned back to the conversation.

Harry looked at Dumbledore, who seemed thankful for the ice breaker. "I meant to tell you this last year, but I think your plate was full enough without this information."

Harry saw Ginny flinch, and instantly wanted to reach out and console her.

Dumbledore held up one finger to Ginny, and opened on of the drawers on his desk. Slowly he pulled something out of it, then tapped it on his desk. It was…a key? Harry looked at Dumbledore, somewhat confused.

"Do you know what this is?" Dumbledore asked Ginny, quietly.

Ginny shook her head, obviously not see what the object was.

"It's something Muggles use. It's called a key. A key opens certain things, and a lot of things have special keys."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Sir, I know what a key is…But…What does it have to do with me?" Ginny asked bluntly, leaning forward, and looking at the key.

Dumbledore smiled softly at her, and shook his head. "You're a…No, the key," Dumbledore said seriously.

"Me?" Ginny asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes," Dumbledore said nodding.

A few moments of silence passed, and Ginny blinked, letting this sink in. "But…to what?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Harry."

"Potter?" pensive Ginny and real Harry asked at the same time. Harry looked between Ginny and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded. "As hard as it may seem to grasp, you are Harry's key. One day, he will need you more then you will ever know. And excuse me for going all astronomy and divination on you, but it's written in the stars." Dumbledore had hoped to lighten the mood, but Ginny just sat there.

"Wait…But why? For what?"

Dumbledore sighed. "It's hard for even me to understand at this point in time. All I know is that you are the key to Harry's secret weapon."

Moments passed, where neither of them spoke, and Harry stood in complete and utter shock.

Slowly, Ginny stood up, and both Harry and Dumbledore watched as the young girl floated out. "Like the weight of the world," Dumbledore said quietly, a hint of sadness to his voice.

Harry looked at him, confused to no end at this point. Before anything else happen, the scenery faded. Harry stood in the middle of a dormitory. Obviously a Gryffindor dormitory. Obviously a girls dormitory.

"I'm in the girls dormitory!" Harry exclaimed, looking around excitedly. How many blokes could say that! Harry took note of all the undergarments, and suddenly felt like a pervert.

Looking for a place where his eyes could settle on anything but lace, Harry saw Ginny sitting in her bed, and his breath caught in his throat. He never saw her at ease like this before, and he smiled. She sat on her bed, reading a book. It was a fourth year book, so either Ginny was catching up on some leisure reading (which wasn't really unheard of, for Ginny Weasley, she seemed to have Hermione's knack for brushing up on old texts) or doing homework.

Hermione came bustling in the room, her prefect badge on. This was only further proof that this was his fifth year, considering Ginny's badge wasn't on.

Hermione sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, as if she were taking precautions. "He--Harry--kissed her--Cho," she said quietly.

Ginny's face faltered for a few moments, before she recovered and smiled. "Good. Good for him," Ginny said nodding.

Hermione patted Ginny's leg, forcing a smile. "See ya, Gin," she said quietly, and then left.

When Ginny was alone, her hand slid under her pillow, and Harry watched as she pulled out a key. She looked at it for a few moments before closing her fist around it.

Harry watched again, as the scene faded once more.

There he was, Pensive Harry, and Ginny, sitting side by side in the court yard. Harry couldn't seem to recall this, yet there he was. Snow was falling around them, and both of their faces seemed to be red. "Harry?"

"Hmm?" Harry said, not bothering to look at Ginny.

"We need to talk," she said quietly.

"Abo--" but Harry's words stopped. "Luna!" he called, getting up, losing complete train of thought. "We'll talk later. See ya Gin," Harry said, before racing off after Luna.

Two girls, who had been sitting a few spaces away from Harry and Ginny giggled. "Rumor has it, he fancies her."

Ginny didn't look at them, but stood up, taking something out of her pocket. Harry recognized a key. "Some key I am," she whispered bitterly, tears filling her eyes. Looking at her watch, Ginny gathered her things, and headed towards the castle, walking quickly. Harry had to start off at a run.

He'd never felt so horrible in his whole life. He ran a hand down his face, shaking his head, all the while, following Ginny's feet. Even though this was Pensive Ginny, Harry still felt as if he couldn't bare to look at her.

Soon, Ginny stopped, and Harry almost ran into her. She knocked on the door, furiously. Harry recognized they were in front of Dumbledore's office. But why?

"Looking for me, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked quietly. Both Harry and Ginny whirled around, and stood face to face with Dumbledore.

Tears were at the corner of Ginny's eyes. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked, her voice quivering. "I should obviously not be the key," she whispered, looking away and wiping her eyes furiously. "It should be Luna, or something. Or maybe…Maybe I'm the key because it has to be someone Harry doesn't care about?"

"I care about you Ginny!" Harry said, looking at her bewildered. And then he remembered she couldn't hear him. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He felt horrible. Like a humongous prat.

"Miss Weasley, please," Dumbledore said quietly, as the door behind Ginny and Harry swung open. Once Dumbledore was settled in his desk, he looked sadly at Ginny who was sitting opposite of him, head buried in hands.

Harry had an arm around her, even though he knew it didn't matter. He caused this, and he couldn't bare it.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore, Professor. I tried talking to him, but…" Ginny shook her head, her voice giving her away with every word. "I just can't keep holding out for him. I don't even know what I am supposed to do, or how I am supposed to help. I just…" Ginny shoulders shook, and Harry wanted to pull her close, but was powerless.

Dumbledore looked down at his hands, as if he were ashamed he had caused this. "I should have told you it would have took time, Miss Weasley. I honestly hadn't expected it to take this long," he said quietly. Harry looked at Dumbledore, and Harry thought he could almost feel the ache Dumbledore felt for Ginny. But Harry's out beat his by far.

And suddenly, Harry was back in Ginny's room, standing there, completely shocked. He shouldn't have looked. But he was glad he did.

Running out of Ginny's room, Harry began to go down the steps, knocking into someone.

"Whoa, Harry! Where's the fire?" Ginny asked, grinning up at him. She was a step below Harry, and he knew he was staring at her rather dumbly.

"I'm so sorry," Harry blurted out. He wasn't quite sure if he meant for looking at her Pensive, or for being a completely blind prat. And by the looks of it, Ginny was just confused as he was.

"For what?" she asked.

"I…Well…" he couldn't lie to her, could he? No, he couldn't. After all, Ginny was practically a lie detector. "Well, I kind of…looked in your Pensive…"

Ginny looked at him, her expression blank. "What?" she asked. Harry looked at her, giving himself a momentary pep talk before she blew up on him.

"Your Pensive," he said quietly, "I looked into it."

Ginny's eyebrows raised, and she shook her head. "But…Harry, I don't have a Pensive," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"Yes you do," Harry accused. "It was in your room…"

"Uh, Harry, why were you in my room?"

Harry blushed (he couldn't recall doing that in front of Ginny before), "I was…Well, looking for you," he said quietly.

Ginny stood still for a few moments. "Why?" she blurted out.

Suddenly Dumbledore, Hermione, and Charlie appeared behind Ginny, all grinning madly.

"So it worked?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"What?" Ginny asked, turning around.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "It was your Pensive," Harry said quietly, piecing it all together. "The first memory was Charlie's, the second one Dumbledore's, next came Hermione, and then…" Harry paused. "The last one?"

Dumbledore smiled a bit sheepishly. "I happened to be out for a walk that morning, and I witnessed the whole thing," he said quietly.

Ginny waved her hand in front of Harry's face. "Hello? Anyone care to tell me what's going on?" Ginny asked impatiently.

"Do you have a key?" Harry asked somewhat suddenly, looking at Ginny. Dumbledore, Charlie, and Hermione backed away slowly, leaving the two alone.

"A key?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Or rather…are you the key?" Harry asked, searching Ginny's face.

Ginny's features went from shock, to anger, to happiness, and then finally to shock. "Wait…how do you know?" Ginny looked away.

"The Pensive," Harry said simply, willing her to meet his eyes.

Ginny looked at him, apologetically. "I'm sorry I'm not a better key," she said quietly, but still held her head up high.

Harry smiled. "You're perfect," Harry said quietly. "Untied shoelaces and all."

Then there was silence. I'll let you use your imagination for this part. Please do keep in mind that we're in the Burrow, so we need to keep Harry in one piece.


End file.
